On Friday, March 28th, an era came to an end when Byggmaker Saxegård closed its doors for the last time. At the same time, the employees and loyal professional customers gathered for an evening of humor, nostalgia and strengthened community before parting ways.
To make the end memorable and inclusive, they invited Wittario as part of the program.
The result? A creative and energetic game with team building in the center.
The evening's activity was a QR code hunt in the Wittario app, played in teams of five people. Around 40 participants, both employees and professional customers, joined a course full of cooperation, knowledge and creativity. The participants ran through the department store in search for hidden QR codes and new challenges, and the competitive instinct quickly kicked in.
Some where so dedicated that they even locked the door to prevent their competitors from finding a code hanging there.
It's easy to think that men aged 45 plus are not interested in gamification, but this evening completely disproved that. There was high energy, lots of laughter and real team spirit from start to finish.
The tasks the participants were given to hone their skills on where anything but ordinary. Several were inspired by the department store's own history, which spans over 100 years and were combined with practical and playful elements.
Among other things the participants had to guess how many screws were in a box, solve an anagram and create a slogan that included the words "never", "build" and "tape". One task asked the teams to build a capital B from what they found around the department store, while another challenged them to play within a video where they talked about a colleague or customer. The game created both laughter and reflection - and that despite of differences in roles and relationships.
An employee who didn't want to participate said afterwards:
"I've been on the sidelines, but this is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time."
Even though employees and customers are now scattered to new stores and locations, Byggmaker Saxegård wanted to end in a way that preserved the community. It was a celebration, but also a tribute to the store's proud history and the strong relationships that have been built over decades.
"With Wittario, we got an engaging game with a focus on social activities, knowledge and history. The response was beyond expectations and we want to use Wittario on future occasions as well."
- Ole-Jacob Larsen, store/lumber salesperson, Byggmakker
The closing evening at Byggmakker Saxegård showed how much more a gathering can become when you combine history, competition and creativity. It was not just an evening of good memories - it was an evening that created new ones.